From acid tabs to illegal raves: Former soldier lifts the lid on the hedonistic exploits of young servicemen seeking escape from the horrors of the Troubles

• Stuart Griffiths was posted to Northern Ireland with Parachute Regiment
• Now 41-year-old recounts his experiences in new book Pigs' Disco

By Kerry Mcdermott

Published: 06:59 EST, 3 August 2013 | Updated: 10:50 EST, 5 August 2013

At the height of the Troubles, the sight of British Army soldiers on patrol in Northern Ireland was a familiar one.

But these pictures reveal a side to army life unlikely to be found in the pages of any traditional military history book.

From 'munching on acid' to attending illegal raves, former soldier Stuart Griffiths has lifted the lid on the hedonistic exploits of young servicemen seeking an escape from the horror of the conflict in Northern Ireland during the late '80s and early '90s.

On parade: Stuart Griffiths was posted to the Parachute Regiment in Northern Ireland after joining the Army as a 16-year-old in 1988

Now a writer and photographer, Mr Griffiths, 41, was posted to Northern Ireland with the Parachute Regiment after joining the army in 1988 at the age of 16.

While there he began to document the reality of everyday life in the forces with an instamatic camera, capturing drug-fuelled parties, soldiers posing with Page 3 girls and horseplay with rifles and equipment.

Those photographs form the basis of Mr Griffiths' new book, Pigs' Disco - named after monthly parties which saw local girls invited into the barracks for a night of drinking, dancing and sex.

Horseplay: Mr Griffiths said that - while the soldiers who took acid reserved it for when they were in camp - 'we still had rifles'

Down-time: Mr Griffiths spent five years in the army after joining as a 16-year-old

'I just wanted to do something which is very truthful,' said the writer, who admitted his book was 'not going to please everyone'.

'It's basically my own experience from how I saw it,' said the author, whose stint in the army pre-dated the introduction of compulsory drug testing.

Mr Griffiths said many soldiers used recreational drugs as a means of finding respite from the rigours of military life.

'I remember being on my two days off and being completely off my head,' he said.

'Fortunately I managed to get my head straight.'

Hedonism: The former soldier said many young servicemen were seeking an escape from the rigours of daily life in the military

The author paints an eye-opening portrait of military life at the time, but says the drug taking he witnessed was largely reserved for soldiers' down-time.

'We used to have a rota, we'd be on guard duty or escort duty, then go on a four week stint of West Belfast - the only thing we did there was smoke cigarettes,' he said.

'We weren't taking acid then.

'The acid thing was when we were on camp - but we'd still got rifles.'

'Truthful': Mr Griffiths was posted in Northern Ireland, as the Troubles continued to rage, during his five year stint with the Army

Recreational: The army was yet to introduce compulsory drug testing when Stuart was a serving soldier

Mr Griffith said that, having fallen in with 'a bad crowd' in his home town of Warrington, he joined the army with the aim of setting himself on the straight and narrow.

'When I joined all my friends from school were going to the Hacienda and listening to the Stone Roses and the Happy Mondays, I was very anti-drugs at the time.

'But I realised a lot of soldiers were listening to the same thing - it was filtering through.'

Pressure: The former soldier said he suspects the type of drug use he describes in Pigs' Disco still goes on among some servicemen today

Burgeoning scene: This photograph taken at an illegal rave at Black Rock in Brighton features in Pigs' Disco

Parties: The former soldier said he has 'no regrets' about his five years in the army

A paratrooper poses for the camera flanked by two Page 3 models in East Tyrone in 1992

Before too long Mr Griffiths was experimenting with hallucinogenics and burning incense in the barracks to hide the smell of marijuana.

That the influence of the nascent rave scene and its drug culture had reached serving soldiers is evident from Mr Griffiths' photographs, which capture soldiers letting loose at illegal parties on Brighton's Black Rock.

The army introduced compulsory drug testing in 1998.

But asked whether he suspects some soldiers still seek an escape from the pressures of military life with the help of illegal substances, Mr Griffiths replies: 'Very much so.'

A spokesman for the Ministry of Defence said: 'It is difficult to comment on the accuracy of historic accusations of drug misuse going back decades. However, since the period in question the MOD has introduced Compulsory Drug Testing (CDT) which has shown that drug misuse in the Armed Forces is extremely rare.

'In fact, positive CDT rates in the armed forces over the last few years average around 0.42 per cent, compared with 7 per cent in civilian workplace drug testing programmes in the UK.

'Drug misuse is significantly less prevalent among service personnel than in corresponding civilian demographic groups and we are clear that there is absolutely no place in the Armed Forces for those who use illegal drugs.'

Stuart Griffiths' book Pigs' Disco is available now from Ditto Press.